October 2016

Since Travis and I both like to take the girls trick or treating, no one will be home for a little while to hand out candy. I didn’t want to just NOT pass anything out so I decided to the the whole, “let’s just leave it on the porch” thing.

I plan on passing out candy along with non-candy treats this year so I thought I would make up a little sign to display on our porch as well with the bowls until we return to finish passing out candy.

This was super easy.

I just free handed the sign but you could always creating it with cut out letters or vinyl if you don’t like your penmanship.

Supplies:

-Yard Stick

-Large sturdy board (this was a thin piece of cardboard I had on hand)

-Sharpies or regular markers

-Pencil

-Small piece of paper

On a small piece of paper I wrote up my saying in the layout that I wanted it.

This was so I could see if I wanted to make any changes on a small scale and see how many rows I would need to create on my large board.

I measured out even rows and marked the center of my board then I wrote out the saying in pencil.

Using a Sharpie, I rewrote everything making slight adjustments here or there.

I used some color sharpies to add some candy and other embellishments to the sign.

Have fun with it.

Add a spider web, pumpkin, witch, any other item you’d like!

Add some color to your letters as well.

And that’s it!

I placed it out on our porch with the candy bowls in front and surrounded it with the flowers and pumpkins we had on the porch already.

I hope all the little ghosts, goblins, princesses, and witches enjoy the treats!

If you are having adults and children at your Thanksgiving this one will help you set up a kid’s table setting.

2.) Build your Centerpiece

Once you select what type of table setting you plan on having on your table, it is time to decide what type of centerpiece you would want to create.
They can be as elaborate or as simple as you would like.

Add layers as well but my number one tip for creating a centerpiece is to keep it low!
You want your guests to be able to converse across the table with one another and if your centerpiece is too high it will block their view from each other and they will have difficulty speaking.

Also, don’t make your centerpiece too full that it crowds the table settings for your guests. Make sure there is still plenty of room for the plates, glasses and silverware so your guests are comfortable.

Fold them in such a way that they are useful and hold a menu or your silverware.

Or just create a beautiful napkin ring with the flowers you use on your table or with some lace, ribbon or burlap along with some added details like berries.

There are some really cool ideas for napkins out there!

4.) Let Your Guest Know Where To Sit

Another great detail to add to your table are name cards for your guests.
Even if you are just eating Thanksgiving dinner with your family, it is still fun to create a little name card to let everyone know they were thought about and are special.

I have a creative brain…which means I have issues with ideas popping into my head and then ACTUALLY making them a reality. I fully realize that not every idea that pops into ones head needs to become a reality…but for a creative person we kinda think they do!

This project was loosely inspired by a photo my best friend shared on Facebook one day (years ago). When we were getting our three girls bedroom all set up I knew I wanted to make this project come to life…and it has changed a bit from the original idea but I love how it turned out.

It started with a HUGE blank canvas, 20×30 huge! And this wrapped canvas was hung on the girls wall…and neglected. When you run a creative business and have 5 kids and a part time job the things you want to do for YOUR home rarely get done in a timely manner. So this hung in their room for almost a year. And then I had had enough and I needed to get working on it so I wouldn’t go crazy!!

So the first thing I did was paint the background…I used a few shades of blue for the sky and a few shades of green for the grass. I tried to give the grass some texture and I tried to make the sky look like a clear bright spring time sky. I think both of the objectives were achieved. Then the painting sat again…for about two weeks. Then I made time to work on it again. I found some off white rice paper when I was cleaning up my craft space and thought it would make for some great clouds!! I tore the pieces somewhat randomly and then used Mod-Podge to stick them to the canvas.

Then I found some newspaper and painted two shades of green on the newspaper. I then cut the paper into thin strips so I could use it for the stems.

Again, I used mod-podge to stick the newspaper down. The newspaper didn’t lay down as smoothly as the clouds but I am really glad it didn’t!! I love the dimension it adds to the whole project.

So here is what it looked like with the background colors, clouds and flower stems!!

So then I wanted to add the words…so the first thing I did was write the words in chalk directly onto the canvas. This is a great tip if you have an acrylic painting that you want to add details or words to. It wipes away very easily if you mess up and painting over the chalk is super easy!

Once my words were where I wanted them I painted them onto the canvas. I will tell you that painting words with a brush and actual paint is very challenging for me…but it is something I am working on. So, I am not 100% happy with how the words look but it’s about learning in the process so that’s okay with me!

So here is the piece with everything but the flowers! It’s starting to take shape but really missing the pop of the colors and textures from the flowers!

My friend Danica and I traded creative services. She made me these beautiful crocheted flowers and I designed a logo for her. (I’m always up for a good trade if you have something in mind.) I found my big jar of random buttons and just started to sew the buttons on top of the flowers directly to the canvas. If you have a good needle you can stitch right onto the canvas! It’s so much fun. The possibilities are endless!!

I love how this project turned out and I’m so excited that I still have some more flowers so I may make some smaller versions of this project as well!!

Have you done a mixed media project?

I would love to see it. I have some other mixed media project ideas in mind but I need to learn more about the process…I would love it if you would link up a project you have done in the comments!!

Next, you will place your mouse over the “Design” option on the top in which a new drop down menu will slide down.

This is where you can decide what to do. Would you like a blank canvas, use one of the new templates, or create a custom size masterpiece.

For this I just chose “blank canvas”

Then it will ask what size canvas. I picked 8×10.

Your blank canvas will open and it will have the canvas color open for you.

You can leave it white, pick any color background, or even make the background transparent.

Next, it is time to design.

You have a few options.

You can click on the little butterfly icon in the left hand tool column and either upload your own images that you may have saved on your computer or use one of their many graphics and overlays.

You could also click on the themes icon farther down, it is currently a little cat but it changes with the seasons/holidays, and there they have Halloween, Christmas, Winter, and other theme groups full of images, editing options, and fonts that you can use.

For this purpose, I picked the Trick or Treat theme and created a little haunted house design.

Stack the images, change the colors, fade items, mess around with the items until you get the look you desire.

You can also add works with one fonts in the theme OR click on the Text icon to use any of the other great fonts in PicMonkey.

And that’s it!

Click save and you are ready to go!

When printing, I recommend playing with your printer settings to make sure that none of the design is cut off.

Using branches, twigs, pinecones, apples, acorns, wood, and pumpkins in your tablescape really brings fall into your home. Most times it will cost you nothing at all if you go out into your backyard or collect things while walking your neighborhood or going on a hike.

Make napkin rings, paint pumpkins, build a planter box for the center of the table, make sconces out of dollar store glass vases and candle holders… let your creativity go wild! Often times you can buy supplies at your local dollar store and make something for your table in an hour or less.

It doesn’t have to be expensive or take a ton of time if you don’t want it to.

It’s Molly from Just a Little Creativity back again this pretty October to share a fun project the kids love! I’ve made several of these little thumbprint trees over the years, and they’re always fun and unique. In fact, I shared one originally years ago on my blog that my kids and I created on canvas for Mother’s Day.

My youngest was a preschooler then, and he enjoyed getting paint on his fingers, and his little thumbprints usually end up smudged, but precious anyway.

And as the kids have gotten older, it’s fun to see how much more careful and precise they are with their designs.

Today, I’m sharing how to make these trees in the colors of Autumn, and on a really cool palette board I found in the dollar section at Target. Which, btw, was actually $3 so I’m not sure why we still call it a Dollar section, do you? Anyway, back on track 🙂

Supplies:

A base (I’m using the palette)

A variety of Fall colored craft paint (make sure you include brown for the trunk)

A paintbrush (I used a flat brush)

Directions:

First, paint the trunk of your tree and your branches. I promise this doesn’t have to be fancy or complicated. I prefer the swirly branches, you can do straight ones. I have found that the more sparse the branches are the better for all the little fingerprints that will be added. If you’re really not confident with a paint brush, then use a brown paint pen. But I encourage you to give the paintbrush a try. You can do it!

Now is the fun part!

Put a little paint in each color on a plate, and let the kids dip their thumb or finger into one color at a time, and dot all over the top of the tree. These are the leaves. Make sure they wipe their fingers between colors (keep a rag or baby wipes handy).

Remember, you’re not necessarily going for perfect. Make sure you have fun!

There is no right or wrong way to know how many leaves you want to add. We’ve made these so full, and have made them less. They look great either way.

You can create these on really any type of material. Card stock for greeting cards, canvas, scrap wood, probably even on craft plates and cups with the correct materials.

They make great grandparent gifts, or even a class gift for a teacher. Have each little one in the class take turns with several colors of leaves. Then, personalize at the bottom with the teacher’s name and school year.

What would you use yours for? I’d love to know.

Thank you for letting me share, see you next month!

Molly is the blogger behind the blog Just a Little Creativity. Molly a mom of five- one girl, four boys ages 18-7 and has been married to her husband for 16 years. Molly loves to read and creates and sells hand painted custom art for children’s spaces at her Etsy Shop, MyArtsyBaby. In 2010, Just a Little Creativity was born where she shares crafts, recipes, home decor, family stories, and product reviews.